“Who do you think will win?” Mrs. Hamilton asked lightly as the Donnyton group took their seats. She suddenly regretted not bringing tea with her to the seats; it would have given her an easy way to hide her smiles.

Perhaps because Isabella Cortez had been defeated by the Huangs, the young woman who sat next to Mrs. Hamilton thought about the question with great care for several seconds. Pan just scowled down at the arena and crossed his arms. Isabella finally shook her head slightly. “That Huang Li… is obviously very strong. But… I just cannot imagine Paolo and Kayle losing. They have so much experience with battles that I don’t think that Huang Shou shares.”

“Normally, I would agree with you,” Mrs. Hamilton said lightly. “But there are two important weaknesses to this version of them. Obviously one weakness is the fact they are not using their natural weapons. At the base level, it is almost irrelevant to them. But if they face foes with similarly powerful images, that small difference will end up being crucial. As for the second reason… care to guess?”

Donny and Glendel were absent, doing their own preparations for their match later. But Kayle and Paolo’s squad, as well as several of Donnyton’s other powerful squads, were filing in around them as Donnyton commandeered a large section of the stands. Mrs. Hamilton could feel the instinctive, delicate threads of rejection from the people of Donnyton around her, but she ignored their ambient emotions.

To a Mrs. Hamilton who had survived from the beginning of the System’s arrival until now, there was nothing more important that viewing everything with an unbiased eye.

To her surprise, Pan answered first. “Well, they don’t care much about winning, right? They are just battle maniacs. That’s always a handicap.”

“An interesting point. But I would say that they both enjoy the act of fighting too much to let that stop them, once the match starts. They possess plenty of tenacity toward victory, once they begin to bleed. But you are right that in the right circumstances, that could be dangerous.” Mrs. Hamilton replied with a smile. “Any other thoughts? I’m thinking of a personal factor related to image.”

“Oh!” Isabella’s expression abruptly brightened. “Is it… is it because the Ghosthound is here, watching? And he has very obviously put a lie to their invulnerability in the past. So being here would weaken them, because someone stronger is present?”

“Also an interesting thought, but… well, you might very well be right about that, but it wasn’t what I was thinking.” Mrs. Hamilton filed that thought away so she could scrutinize the minute interactions between Paolo and Kayle’s images and Randidly’s aura during the fight. But ultimately, Randidly had been so studious about being self-contained that there might not end up being any interaction to watch.

Still, it was reassuring for Isabella to bring something up that Mrs. Hamilton hadn’t considered. Perhaps they could someday sit at the helm of Donnyton, after all.

Paolo’s right-hand man gave Mrs. Hamilton a meaningful sidelong glance; he wanted to know whether he should speak or night. She inclined her head slightly. It didn’t matter where the answer came from, just that the Cortez siblings heard it and understood.

He cleared his throat to draw their attention and then spoke. “They have a handicap because they are curious. No one has yet forced Huang Li to display his full potential. His powerful attacks have generally ended his fights. Rather than winning the tournament, Paolo and Kayle will focus on finding the hidden potential of the tournament participants in the beginning and middle portions of the match. They won’t strike decisively to end it early, which should be extremely possible for someone like Kayle-”

“Rick,” Kayle’s second interrupted as he leaned forward in his seat. “Don’t be modest. Paolo’s ability to strike swiftly is in no way inferior to Kayle’s. And in fact, when you consider how destabilizing Paolo can be-”

“I don’t know what is more aggravating. Kayle and Paolo fighting, or the two of you complimenting each other constantly,” Pan complained. The two men clicked their tongues and took their seats, right next to each other. Mrs. Hamilton smiled slightly; inwardly, she was in agreement with Pan. And in fact, their bosses' constant bickering was much more palatable than the alternative.

“...anyway,” Mrs. Hamilton eventually continued. “What Rick said was correct. Look, they took the opportunity to come out first. Although I suppose this is their right, as the higher seed… they are the champions, while the other duo is the challenger.”

Around Mrs. Hamilton and the Cortez siblings, the Donnyton group and much of the crowd leapt to their feet and began to roar as the figures of Paolo and Kayle sauntered out onto the stone arena. Whether it was due to their affiliation with Donnyton, their very public bet to use each other’s weapons, their approachable personalities, or their dominant wins thus far, this duo had won the goodwill of the public.

Mrs. Hamilton closed her eyes, feeling the volume of the cheers around her like the presence of a swarm of bees with their segmented legs pressing against her skin. It was a living, physical cloud. It was both sound and energy, echoing in the bowl-like stadium. And below on the arena floor, she could feel both Paolo and Kayle steadily absorbing the outpouring of support.

They raised their heads and that energy flowed into their confident smiles and settled through their images.

Paolo benefited a lot more directly than Kayle, but both had their images buoyed upward to fill the sky. Mrs. Hamilton even felt Randidly stirring above as the two images spread out to dominate the surrounding space. Even that strange heaviness from Randidly couldn’t hide his curiosity and interest as he looked down at the fighters of Earth.

Mrs. Hamilton followed the Ghosthound’s sharp gaze; truly, these two were special. From Paolo, the typical exultation of a champion emerged. He was indomitable, invulnerable, inexhaustible. He might bleed or be beaten down, but nothing would ever keep him from rising once more. These cheers made his image concrete almost instantly. His belief in his own strength towered above him like a thousand-year-old sandstone pillar.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

But the potency of Kayle’s image didn’t fall behind his partner who was so at home in a coliseum. And if anything, Kayle’s image was slightly more aggressive than Paolo’s. Because Kayle’s image concerned distance. Any distance, really. The space that could be severed, almost absolutely, by a single slash of a blade.

Mrs. Hamilton’s eyes slowly opened, until she looked down at Kayle with a half-lidded gaze. There was a swirling boundary around Kayle about six and a half meters from his person. Even without his long knives, he had an almost absolute control of that six and a half meters. To the point that Mrs. Hamilton couldn’t be sure that she could defend herself if she went within that space.

It used to be that it was a difference of combat practice, but now… Mrs. Hamilton couldn’t help but smile at the small stirrings of envy in her heart as she looked down at the prideful men on stage. My attention went elsewhere. Even if my image is just as robust as theirs, the applications differ significantly. In a fight… Heh, I’ll be lucky if I can overpower little Bella here…

Gradually, the cheering faded to a chaotic rumble from the crescendo. Both Paolo and Kayle turned the opposite entrance to the fighting grounds. For from there, a new breeze was blowing. Mrs. Hamilton looked up at the sky above them. The heavy clouds that had lingered after yesterday’s snow had previously seemed stoic and disapproving, but her eyes could still trace the subtle ways they began to move.

The wind wasn’t oppressive, but it was almost all-encompassing.

The Huangs walked out calmly, with Huang Li standing a little behind and to Huang Shou’s left as they proceeded forward. Shou’s wooden cane hit the ground at an even interval, echoing to with enough of an image’s edge that it managed to suppress the cheers of the crowd. Gradually, silence was pulled over the stage as though it was being dragged by that limping old man.

Oh? This is new. Tired of letting your grandson steal the spotlight, eh? Mrs. Hamilton studied Huang Shou more closely. Well, it makes sense. The elder generation isn’t very well represented in this tournament… let’s prove that the unwavering belief an image requires isn’t just a young person’s game.

Perhaps I should try and meet this man before they return to their Zone...

Very quickly, the Zone 7 team took its place opposite Paolo and Kayle, who were playing a very fast-paced game of rock-paper-scissors. Their hands were only blurs as they adjusted their response on the fly. The duo parted a few seconds later, and Mrs. Hamilton could tell from the rather glum expression on Paolo’s face that he had lost.

Meanwhile, Kayle grinned over at Huang Li with a triumphant expression; Mrs. Hamilton couldn’t help but roll her eyes. You two maniacs never change…

The referee looked back and forth between the duos. “Are both sides ready?”

Both duos nodded their heads and the referee cleared his throat. He checked his watch and nodded. “Then let the first quarterfinals match of the duos tournament to name the Earth… begin!”

Neither side moved immediately as the audience began to cheer more loudly. The wind around the stadium began to howl, a counterpoint to the cheers. Although his expression was somewhat listless, Paolo cracked his knuckles and began to advance. The Huangs exchanged a glance and Huang Shou walked slowly forward to meet him. It seemed that the purpose of Kayle and Paolo’s brief competition was obvious to everyone.

“I find you… uncouth.” Huang Shou remarked with a deep frown.

Paolo grinned in response. “I find you disappointing.”

Meanwhile, Kayle was studying Huang Li very closely as the winds around the stadium became more intense. Even the heavy cloud cover was beginning to noticeably stir. The man pursed his lips and then said. “Take your time. I wish to fight you at your peak performance.”

Huang Li closed his eyes and released a deep breath. “...I hope you are aware that I do not have full control over this image.”

“I understand.” Kayle looked down at his hand and rubbed a bit of dirt off of one of his fingers. Then he rolled his shoulders and settled into a martial arts stance. “By the same token, my current weapons are… blunt instruments. Don’t spend your health too cheaply against me, or you will regret it.”

Rather than a duos tournament, this is just two single fights happening next to each other, Mrs. Hamilton thought.

As Paolo picked up speed toward him, Huang Shou shook his head with an aggrieved expression on his face. “I admit I was the first to break the silence between us… but to think that we would all waste so much time talking. Close your mouth and fight.”

“Ha! That’s the joy of it!” Paolo bellowed. His face was beginning to turn red and he accelerated forward. The last few meters between them melted to almost nothing in a single second. “This is it! This conflict! This expectation! Being observed and struggling to emerge dominant! If you are a man, you must clench your fists and raise your voice in such a situation. FIGHT ME!!”

Paolo’s large hand, wrapped tightly around a knife, blasted forward. Huang Shou gritted his teeth and waved his cane; a swirling, geometric formation appeared in Paolo’s path. Bright lines of energy manifested in the formation, blocking Paolo’s path. But that blow struck the formation and shattered it to smithereens.

Huang Li spared a glance for his partner, then faced Kayle with his sword raised. The volume of wind was oppressive where Mrs. Hamilton was sitting, so she couldn’t imagine the state of things in the arena below. The referee was blinking rapidly, struggling to keep his eyes open in the face of the strong wind.

A sinuous dragon settled across Huang Li’s shoulders. Kayle just smiled and bounced lightly on the balls of his feet.

“Fine then. Let’s start.” The dragon raised its head and roared; Huang Li’s eyes blazed. His sword ripped through the air. “Cloud-Slaying Slash.”

“Sever.” Kayle slashed his hand downward.

The two were perhaps six meters apart when they struck. Both attacks were relatively normal, as far as attacks under the influence of the System went. Both relied on pure images of intent, rather than gratuitous special effects.

Yet at the end of it, Huang Li’s eyes widened as blood spurted out of a fresh wound in his shoulder.

Kayle grinned over at him and took a deliberate step forward. Mrs. Hamilton’s eyes narrowed at the ominous aura that the Donnyton Classer began to release; that was the smile of a man who believed he would be capable of cutting anything in his path. “Not that one… show me your other sword. The sword that can slay an entire sky.”